An emergency locator beacon from the vessel began signaling at 3:30 a.m. in an area about 200 miles northwest of St. Paul Island. There had been no distress signal from the crew before the beacon signaled, Delaney said.

A Coast Guard C-130 was launched to search for the vessel and arrived in the area at 8:30 a.m. The plane's crew spotted two bodies, but has found no sign of the vessel.

The crew of the Arctic Rose had contacted its sister ship, the Alaskan Rose, at about 10:30 p.m. Sunday.

"That was the last time anybody had heard from them. That was their normal check-in," Delaney said.

The winds in the area were reported to be 25 mph with six- to eight-foot seas.

The Arctic Rose is home-ported in Dutch Harbor and is owned by Arctic Sole Seafoods of Seattle, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.